What’s a tree worth? That’s the misunderstanding driving our country’s deforestation crisis. Today, bare land is worth more than the intact ecosystems that support our lives. It’s an old colonial idea. And a bad one.

The threat to life

Without a liveable climate, the vulnerable ecosystems that sustain us, won’t. Deforestation is Australia’s hidden emitter — like adding 10 million cars to our roads.

Australia’s deforestation front ranks in the global top 10, alongside Borneo, the Amazon and the Congo. It’s primarily driven by agriculture (mostly for beef production), mining and urban development.

Bulldozers drag thick chains through the landscape, snapping trees like matchsticks. This wood isn’t used for anything — it’s burned or left to rot. Carbon once stored in trees and soil goes back into the atmosphere. This wastes up to 10% of Australia’s carbon budget.

Protest outside QLD parliament

If we can strengthen the laws in Queensland, we can do it everywhere.

Since the LNP Newman Government began gutting laws in 2012, rogue operators in Queensland have wiped out forest and bushland at record rates.

Our supporters helped blow the lid of this hidden crisis. We heard from wildlife vets, koala carers, backyard tree-planters and farmers getting great results by letting their land recover. Hundreds of our Movement For Life volunteers hit the streets, knocking on doors to let Queenslanders know about the explosion of deforestation in their state. And in 2018, we finally won stronger laws.

They're not perfect, and the legacy of the LNP Newman Government has left loopholes, but they'll go a long way in curbing the crisis. We'll work to improve the system in Queensland, while turning our focus to escalating land clearing across NSW, WA and NT.

Koala rescued from deforestation

Why is this still happening?

Historically, deforestation was considered best practice. In the 60s and 70s, agriculturalists in Queensland’s Brigalow Belt were actually fined for letting their land regenerate. This was rooted in some flawed ideas about the biology of soils and the resilience of our landscapes. It means just 50% of Australia’s forest and bushland remains — much of it degraded.

While the majority of landholders are eager to embrace new ways to look after their land, a few rogue operators are holding us back.

“Australia’s greatest animal welfare crisis.” - RSPCA

As the only developed country with a deforestation front, it's no surprise Australia’s mammal extinction rates are the highest in the world. Even iconic native species, like the koala and the greater glider, are on the road to extinction.

In the last 20 years, Queensland’s koala population has declined by over 40%. On the Koala Coast, numbers are down by 80%. In New South Wales, 99% of koala habitat on private land is not protected from clearing.

There’s a devastatingly simple fix — change our laws.

A threat to our Reef.

As important catchment zones are stripped bare, the Great Barrier Reef is exposed to a deadly cocktail of silt, animal faeces and industrial fertilisers. This threatens a tourism industry worth $6 billion to Australia.

Deforestation isn’t just deadly. It’s an extreme economic liability.

You can end deforestation

Our vision

If we want to protect our climate, and the ecosystems that make our lives possible, there’s no role for deforestation in Australia’s future.

In climate crisis, there’s economic opportunity for landholders. By incentivising them to rehabilitate bulldozed land, we can make our soils, wildlife and landscapes more resilient to climate change. We can even reverse our emissions in the process.